Back in September 2012, I had the chance to travel on the Maine Eastern Railroad, when the scenic tourist service still ran from Brunswick to Rockland in Midcoast Maine. As a subsidiary of the Morristown & Erie Railway of New Jersey, the Maine Eastern (MERR) was later replaced Central Maine & Québec Railway (CMQ) as the contracted freight operator on the Rockland branch line as of January 2016. With its takeover, CMQ also ended passenger excursion trains, even though Amtrak had started running from Boston to Brunswick with the Downeaster service in fall 2012, thus creating a nice passenger train travel option all the way from Beantown to Rockland. MERR only wanted to continue the passenger service on the Rockland branch with a subsidy and financial contribution from the State of Maine, which balked at this proposal and thus installed an all new (freight only) operator outright. Thus the days of the FL-9 streamliners on the Maine Coast have been numbered for more than 4 years already.
Pictured on the following link below is the wonderful former New Haven EMD FL-9 streamliner No. 488 in a color scheme that is reminiscent of the old Central Maine livery, including the Pine Tree emblem. It is seen on a sunny but cool mid September day in 2012, both in Rockland and Brunswick.
The main shot shows the FL-9 running over the railroad crossing on Maine Street, having just left the newly built Brunswick station complex and heading north in the late afternoon to the depot in Rockland, as the sun sets. Altogether it's 56.6 mile run from Brunswick to Rockland on a route with a lot of curves.
Pics here: https://www.classicandcurrent.net/trains
Pictured on the following link below is the wonderful former New Haven EMD FL-9 streamliner No. 488 in a color scheme that is reminiscent of the old Central Maine livery, including the Pine Tree emblem. It is seen on a sunny but cool mid September day in 2012, both in Rockland and Brunswick.
The main shot shows the FL-9 running over the railroad crossing on Maine Street, having just left the newly built Brunswick station complex and heading north in the late afternoon to the depot in Rockland, as the sun sets. Altogether it's 56.6 mile run from Brunswick to Rockland on a route with a lot of curves.
Pics here: https://www.classicandcurrent.net/trains
